


Christmas Day

by theprydonian_archivist



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drabble, Episode: s03e12 The Sound of Drums, Gen, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-23
Updated: 2012-12-23
Packaged: 2018-07-15 00:57:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7198928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theprydonian_archivist/pseuds/theprydonian_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Merry Christmas, Theta."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Christmas Day

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Versaphile, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Prydonian](http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Prydonian). Deciding that it needed to have a more long-term home, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in June 2016. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact the e-mail address on [The Prydonian collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/theprydonian/profile).

  
Author's note: This is an AU FF where the Master and the Doctor are both in their human forms.  


* * *

John took off his snow-covered jacket and hung it up on the maple wooden coat rack by his apartment's front door. He unraveled the scarf around his neck as he walked into the living room, throwing the red-and-green striped scarf onto the leather couch. Nervously, he tripped over a chair and fumbled for the coffee maker sitting on the sleek kitchen counter, trying to get it to work. It had been broken for days and all he wanted was a single homemade latte so he could stay awake. All of the Christmas shopping he had done tired him out. As John finally got a quarter of a cup of a weird-smelling latte, he took the mug and sat down on the couch, looking at his Christmas tree. It wasn't much, but it was a tree. 

Suddenly, he noticed a silver present sitting underneath his tree. He got up and looked at it curiously. He hadn't put it there. His roommate Lily was on vacation in Hawaii, so obviously she couldn't have sent him that...but if she didn't, then who did? Smith walked over to the little tree, setting his latte down as he did so, and kneeled to reach the present. 

John found a tag on the gift. The little glittery silver tag read:

To John. Hopefully this jogs your memory a bit. 

-M

"Who's M?" Smith wondered out loud. He then shrugged and placed the present on the table, planning to open it later. John grabbed the TV remote and turned on the TV. Harold Saxon's face appeared on the TV.

Saxon grinned. "Hello, Great Britain. First of all, I would like to say a Merry Christmas to each and every one of you. That includes my staff...the children...and every...well, I dunno...teacher?" 

When the word 'teacher' escaped his lips, Harry looked directly at the camera, making John feel like the word was directed to him. For a brief second, the measly teacher winced. But then Smith chuckled. Of course he didn't mean him. Saxon didn't even know he existed! 

John turned the TV off and grabbed the silver present. His weary eyes looked over the box one last time before he ripped off the lovely wrapping paper. Under the wrapping paper was a cardboard box, taped shut. Smith reached for the scissors he left next to the TV remote and began to cut. When the half-beaten box finally gave in, John put his hand inside the mountain of bubble wrap and pulled out a silver fob watch. "So that's where my watch went," he smiled. The teacher ran his fingers over the strange circular patterns on the watch...and suddenly, the words 'Gallifrey', 'TARDIS', 'Time Lord', and 'Doctor' rang in his head. John shook his head. "Why am I hearing these random madeup words?" 

The watch taunted him with its beauty, saying 'Open me. I DARE you. C'mon.' Smith hesitated for a brief moment. Did he really want to open the old fob watch that had been with him for quite some time? It probably didn't even work...but he wanted just one peek. John took the fob watch and slowly opened it. 

Out poured sparkling rays of light that wrapped themselves around the measly teacher's head. His eyes teared up as a wave of memories crashed down on top of him. The Doctor finally remembered who he was.

 

~~~

Mr. Saxon grinned as he watched the Doctor remember on the tiny security camera screen. "Ah, Doctor, it's been so long," he spoke into a microphone. 

Theta looked directly at the camera and scoffed. "Hello, Master. Care to tell me why you took my fob watch from me?"

Harry chuckled. "Oh, I guess I just wanted to taunt you a bit." 

The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"By the way, Merry Christmas, Doctor."

"Merry Christmas...Koschei."

Harold Saxon was taken aback for a moment, and the Doctor smiled, sensing Koschei's uncomfortableness. Theta pulled out his sonic screwdriver and sonic'd the camera. The Master sighed, whirling around in his leather office chair. "Sonic screwdriver. Pfft. Who'd have sonic? Why not..." He pulled out his own screwdriver. "...have laser instead?"

~~~

The Doctor dashed down the street, his trenchcoat flailing behind him as he hopelessly dug around in his pockets for the TARDIS key. He was in such a rush only because Theta wanted to see Koschei again, after about 100 or so more years. "Aha!" he exclaimed triumphantly as a TARDIS key fell into his hand. The Doctor spotted his TARDIS and dashed towards it, immediately opening it and jumping inside, locking the front door behind himself. "Hello, old girl. Haven't seen you in awhile."

~~~

"Having the Doctor back is such a Christmas present," Saxon whispered to himself as he looked outside from his window. The light snow was gently falling and everything seemed peaceful...so peaceful, in fact, that the Master wanted to cause at least some chaos to get things a little interesting around here. "Maybe instead of toying with him...we could just talk." Saxon mentally slapped himself; what was he thinking? No, he'd rather mess with the Doctor. 

~~~

The TARDIS took off and the Doctor pulled up a seat, reclining inside it, feeling very relaxed. He wondered what the Master had in store for him this time. A trap? A little game to play? Or maybe even someone to save? Theta chuckled to himself. Any curveball the Master threw at him, he could hit. 

He looked around the room and noticed all the pictures of his past companions. Sarah Jane...Rose...Martha....Donna...

At the immediate thoughts of Donna and Rose, one of his two hearts broke. 

~~~

The Master began to lock the jail cell as a familiar figure sat inside, helpless and almost broken. Mr. Saxon looked at the captive and smiled devilishly. "Hello...Miss Jones."

Martha looked at him, a fire burning in her eyes. "Let me go, Saxon," she whispered, her voice cracking from lack of water. Jones looked very weak, yet you could still tell that she would fight till her very last breath, her very last heartbeat. 

"Not yet. Your little Doctor should be coming soon," he smirked as he turned around and began to walk away. Koschei held his head high and smiled. 

"When he comes, he'll stop you," she croaked. "He always does, one way or another."

"Maybe. But not this time."

~~~

The TARDIS landed and the Doctor jumped out of the chair and immediately dashed outside, the trenchcoat tails flailing behind him. When he reached the outside of his TARDIS, Theta looked around in awe. He had landed directly inside Saxon's office. 

"Hello."

The voice made the Doctor jump. A cackle arose from the shadows as the Master stepped out, holding his laser screwdriver. 

"So, we meet again. After all these years."

"I thought you were dead."

"I thought I was too, but I found my way back. Earth politics...how corrupt they are." The Master laughed. "Just my kind of style."

"Y'know, I was actually going to vote for you," the Doctor said as he adjusted his glasses. "Well...my human form was."

Koschei smiled. "Really? Well, it's good to know that the Archangel Network is functioning properly."

"Ah, the network," Theta sighed. "Brilliant creation. I'll at least give you props for that."

Harold Saxon nodded in pride and amusement. "It is brilliant, isn't it? And what's even better is that it's mind control."

"I would expect nothing less."

"I'm surprised how efficently it worked. 98%...massive. But that's not why you and I are facing each other today. You made me go off on a tangent again, Doctor. Smart." Harry smiled, a twinkle in his eye as he watched the Doctor wait patiently for any surprise that he had.

"Then tell me, Master...why are we both here?" Theta asked as he leaned on the polished maple wood desk. "D'you have a trap for me? A game? Or someone to save?"

The Master smiled. "Well, I do have a special guest joining us...excuse me a moment." He walked out of the office and dashed down to Martha's cell, the key ring jingling as he sprinted. 

Martha looked up at the Doctor, breathing heavily. "W-What do you want?" Her voice was so broken, even she couldn't recognize it. 

"The Doctor's here." Saxon unlocked her jail cell. "Get out." She didn't budge. Harry rolled his eyes and roughly grabbed her arm. They dashed up the stairs, the Master leading his broken prisioner. When they re-entered the office, the Doctor's eyes grew wide as he saw Martha. 

"I'm sorry." Jones' voice spoke before it finally gave out. 

"Why did you get Martha involved in this?" the Doctor snapped at the Master. "She did nothing to you!"

"If I remember correctly, during The Year that Never Was, she organized a rebellion of words against me with your help."

"Because you were mad. You are mad," Theta countered. 

"Insane," the Master corrected. "And it's all because of the bloody drumming." 

Martha's body fell to the ground suddenly, her eyes rolling in the back of her head. 

The Doctor immediately rushed to her side and checked her pulse. Alive, but just barely. He glared at Koschei. "What did you do to her?" the Time Lord asked, an acidic tone in his voice. The other insane Time Lord said nothing. "TELL ME WHAT YOU DID TO HER!" Theta roared, standing up and getting in Koschei's face. A single tear formed at the corner of his eye. 

The Master grinned ever so slightly. "I do love it when you're angry." He wiped the salty half-tear away and then proceeded to smack the Doctor's face. "But you need to get it together. Now I'll answer your question. We're both here...because we're supposed to rule over these filthy pigs."

The madman with a box sighed, calming down a tiny bit. "We're not supposed to rule them. We're supposed to help them. Protect them. Not enslave them."

"Oh, hush. I think we both need to calm ourselves and..." Saxon looked into Theta's eyes. "...relax." He stepped closer to the Doctor.

The Doctor felt his face flush. "Relax? How can I relax when I've got whole planets to save? I have to protect-"

"Shh." Koschei leaned in and kissed him on the lips. He felt a spark and the insane warrior knew that the madman with a box felt it as well. Theta began to kiss him back and for three whole minutes, both of the Time Lords felt like they were the only two around. Nothing mattered anymore, not even protecting or destroying. Just the beat of their hearts.

Eventually, the Master noticed that the Doctor had fallen asleep and he pulled away, grinning.

"Merry Christmas, Theta," Mr. Saxon whispered as he picked up both Martha and the Doctor and dragged them to the dark dungeons that laid below his grand mansion.

END


End file.
